A REPORT compiled by The Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program in collaboration with TEConomy Partners and Monitor Deloitte showed that Rhode Island lagged the nation and peer states in industry research and development relative to the size of its economy. / COURTESY BROOKINGS
(Updated 10:18 a.m. and 2:05 p.m.) PROVIDENCE – A six-month research effort on Rhode Island’s economy delved into the Ocean State’s past as an industrial leader, its struggles during the Great Recession and its need to innovate to move forward again. Called “Rhode Island Innovates: A Competitive Strategy for the Ocean State,” the report was…
Transportation is the key to leveraging Rhode Island’s assets. Rhode Island should build a PRT mass transit system to connect the Old Colony & Newport Scenic Railway to downtown Providence using the East Bay Bike Path right of way and the East Side Railroad Tunnel. In addition, a PRT mass transit system should be built connecting Narragansett’s beach areas to the main Amtrak right of way using the William C. O’Neill Bike Path right of way. Tourists entering Rhode Island would have direct mass transit access to downtown Providence, to Newport and to Narragansett’s beaches.
As a STEAM educational advocate from Newport, I’m delighted to see that the consultants from Brookings cited the term “STEAM” 80 times within the report. Major tech employers should expect to find an organic pool of talent in RI; sadly our public educational machinery — for the most part – remains absent on the topic. Sure, there are some STEM/STEAM bright spots across the state at the high school level, but much more needs to be done. We should start with the RI Board of Education’s new strategic plan for K-12 education that doesn’t even use the word “science” once across its 49 pages. Clearly, RI’s educational policy leaders need to digest this report and get in-synch with its recommendations. Massachusetts has a 23 year, STEM-focused, head start on us. Time for Rhode Island “giddyup”?
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Transportation is the key to leveraging Rhode Island’s assets. Rhode Island should build a PRT mass transit system to connect the Old Colony & Newport Scenic Railway to downtown Providence using the East Bay Bike Path right of way and the East Side Railroad Tunnel. In addition, a PRT mass transit system should be built connecting Narragansett’s beach areas to the main Amtrak right of way using the William C. O’Neill Bike Path right of way. Tourists entering Rhode Island would have direct mass transit access to downtown Providence, to Newport and to Narragansett’s beaches.
As a STEAM educational advocate from Newport, I’m delighted to see that the consultants from Brookings cited the term “STEAM” 80 times within the report. Major tech employers should expect to find an organic pool of talent in RI; sadly our public educational machinery — for the most part – remains absent on the topic. Sure, there are some STEM/STEAM bright spots across the state at the high school level, but much more needs to be done. We should start with the RI Board of Education’s new strategic plan for K-12 education that doesn’t even use the word “science” once across its 49 pages. Clearly, RI’s educational policy leaders need to digest this report and get in-synch with its recommendations. Massachusetts has a 23 year, STEM-focused, head start on us. Time for Rhode Island “giddyup”?